A Southbridge pediatrician is facing an assault and battery charge for allegedly slapping a 6-year-old boy's face during an examination.

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A clerk magistrate determined at a hearing Tuesday there is probable cause to charge Dr. Thomas O'Leary. He is scheduled to be arraigned Jan. 9.

Police say O'Leary slapped the boy Oct. 28 when he stepped between the boy and his father after the child took off a shoe and threatened to throw it. Police say the boy has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and behavioral problems and had not been medicated.

O'Leary told police that when he intervened, the boy kicked him in the groin, and when he bent forward his hand accidentally struck the boy.

The doctor's lawyer tells The Telegram & Gazette she's confident her client will be exonerated.